Is your freezer door being stubborn and won’t close all the way? If you’ve been in a game of tug of war with it for a while now, then it’s no longer a matter of how much strength you’re putting into closing it.
There are a handful of other reasons why your Samsung freezer’s door won’t close properly, and sometimes they’re not as obvious.
This article will provide you with plenty of ways to address a stubborn freezer door, so you can go back to freezing food up in no time!
Why Your Samsung Freezer Won’t Close All The Way
Your Samsung freezer door won’t close properly if the freezer compartment is overcrowded because an item or container might be obstructing the door or the door’s rubber seal.
To fix this, rearrange the items in your freezer to ensure that nothing is blocking the door and the rubber seal.
While you’re at it, you should also clean out the rubber seal to avoid any dirt or debris buildup. If you notice it coming loose or find any damage around it, replace the rubber seal.
When storing food in the freezer, always consider the remaining space. There should be a safe distance between your food items and the freezer door, as well as the air vents at the back.
If this doesn’t solve the issue, the problem may be in its mechanical parts, like uneven flooring or a damaged door hinge. You can find more details about those below.
Common Causes of a Samsung Freezer Door That Won’t Close Properly
The simplest explanation for a Samsung freezer door that won’t close properly is that something else inside the freezer is preventing it from doing so.
This problem rarely gets too technical and most — if not all — of the troubleshooting you can do for it won’t need professional assistance.
If you find yourself having trouble, however, don’t hesitate to ask for help. We’ve listed all the solutions you can try out below, so you can start with what seems easiest to do on your own.
| Cause | Solution |
| Uneven Grounding | Use a spirit level to check if your fridge is balanced. Adjust the fridge’s levelling legs if necessary or move the fridge to flatter and more level ground. |
| Misaligned Compartments | Check if the shelves, drawers, and baskets in your fridge and freezer are placed properly in the appropriate slots. Rearrange them if necessary. |
| Unbalanced Index Roller Bar | Open the freezer and remove the drawer baskets. Check if the Auto Close Springs and index roller bar are in place. Replace the roller bar if there’s any damage or call for a professional technician. |
| Overcrowding | Rearrange the items in your freezer and place containers away from the freezer door. |
| Frost Buildup | Activate Force Defrost to thaw out the ice. While that’s happening, clear out your fridge. |
| Loose or Damaged Door Seal | Inspect the rubber seal around the door for any loosening, damage, or dirt buildup. Clean the rubber seal thoroughly with a soft, damp cloth and mild soap. If the rubber seal is loose or damaged, replace it. |
| Loose or Damaged Hinges | Inspect the freezer’s door hinges for signs of wearing down or loosening. Tighten them back in place if they are loose; replace them if they’re damaged. |
While these methods may seem easy to follow, it’s important to understand why you encounter them and how they come about in the first place.
We’ve prepared brief explanations for that, so keep on reading to know more.
Uneven Grounding
Level flooring is one of the first things you’d naturally check before buying a new fridge, but setting the said fridge up is a whole other matter. In fact, it’s not an uncommon mistake to install it with uneven legs!
When your fridge stands on uneven ground, the door frame for its compartments will be misaligned, hence why they won’t close all the way.
The good news is that your Samsung fridge comes with levelling feet that you can adjust to your needs.
A couple of signs that your fridge is standing uneven are when it’s making rattling noises or if it’s leaking.
Solution: Check if your refrigerator is level on all sides. For accuracy, we suggest using a spirit level to inspect your fridge from front to back, and then side to side.
Unplug your refrigerator and locate the two levelling feet underneath the front side of your refrigerator.
If you have a side-by-side or four-door fridge, opening the fridge doors would make it easier to access the levelling feet.
Meanwhile, some models have a front leg cover underneath. Remove this cover to access the levelling feet.
The levelling feet can raise and lower your refrigerator. Rotate them accordingly until the bubble in the spirit balances.
Check if the doors of your fridge are aligned. Fridge doors are designed to be misaligned when empty, but if they’re still misaligned after loading the fridge, you can adjust the doors using a C-clip.
In case you want to move the fridge instead, the appliance has 4 wheels near the levelling legs to make this choice easy. Only move your fridge from left to right.
Place the fridge on a more level and flatter ground, preferably with no rug or towels beneath it.
Misaligned Compartments
If your Samsung fridge is newly installed or freshly cleaned, you might have to double-check how the shelves and drawers are arranged.
French door refrigerators in particular have baskets in their freezer compartments that just as easily be skewed as they are removed.
Solution: Inspect the shelves, drawers, and baskets for any misfitting or damage. Realign or replace them as necessary.
Check for any items that might be caught at the back of shelves, drawers, and baskets.
Consider the weight of each item you put in each of these parts. Overloading them may lead to disfiguring them out of their original shape.
Unbalanced Index Roller Bar
French door refrigerators utilize index rollers to push out and pull back freezer drawers more smoothly.
These index rollers are attached to a metal bar that helps stabilize the drawers so they don’t fall out when they slide open.
When the index roller bar isn’t aligned in place, it also misaligns the freezer drawer.
Solution: Open the freezer door and remove the drawer baskets.
Inspect the auto-close springs on the far back of the drawer guide rails. If they’re misaligned, simply slide them towards your direction and lift them until they snap back into place.
Afterwards, check the index roller bar for any damage or misalignment. The roller bars extend to the full length of the freezer’s drawer.
Replace or realign them if necessary.
Once the roller bar is back in place, return the drawer baskets and slowly close the freezer door. The freezer door should be sliding back and forth smoothly.
Firmly close the door without slamming it.
Overcrowding
The simplest reason your freezer door won’t close all the way is that it’s too crowded.
When storing food in your freezer, consider the space for each food item. We suggest arranging them in containers to help you estimate precisely how many items your freezer can hold without being filled to the brim.
Containers and foodstuffs should also not be too close to the door to avoid obstructing it.
If you notice your freezer getting full, don’t force the door to close. It will only pop open again the next time you open the fridge and spill its contents; worse, an item might get caught on it and cause your freezer door to be stuck.
This can also leave the freezer door hanging ajar, which could lead to it warming up.
Solution: Rearrange the items in your freezer and leave a distance between them and the door. Relocate items into the fridge compartment if possible.
Frost Buildup
Door obstructions aren’t limited to just foodstuffs and containers. Frost buildup around your freezer door is also a likely culprit.
When thick ice forms near the freezer door, it can be hard to push against.
Like with overcrowded compartments, forcing a freezer door closed when there’s ice buildup obstructing it will only close it temporarily.
The door will likely snap open sooner or later, leaving the door ajar and disrupting the temperature inside the freezer.
Moreover, frost buildup is more often a result of negligent habits. This issue is more effectively prevented than remedied.
The most common causes for frost buildup are an open freezer door, improperly packed food, and blocked air vents.
Solution: Defrost your freezer by activating Force Defrost.
You can keep also prevent frost buildup from happening too frequently by being mindful of the following:
- Open Freezer Door: Your freezer’s door shouldn’t be left open for more than a minute.
Regularly check if the freezer door’s rubber gasket is intact by running a hand near the door after you close the freezer and checking for escaping air.
- Improperly Packed Food: Cool your food down and store them in a tightly sealed container before putting them in the freezer. Hot or warm food may disrupt the temperature inside the freezer.
If the food requires to be washed before being stored, make sure they’re dry and free of moisture before putting them in the freezer. When unsealed properly, moisture can speed up frost buildup.
- Blocked Air Vents: Check the air vents at the back of your freezer for anything obstructing it.
Like with the freezer door, there should also be a gap between containers stored at the back of the freezer and the freezer air vents.
When these vents are blocked, they trap cold air inside, resulting in faster and thicker frost buildup.
Loose or Damaged Door Seal
When you run a hand around the cavity of your freezer door, you’ll notice a rubber seal protecting it. That’s the door gasket, and its primary job is to moderate the temperature inside your freezer.
When the freezer is in cooling mode, that rubber seal makes sure that cold air won’t escape. Likewise, when you put your freezer on defrost mode, it ensures that warm air won’t escape and disrupt the temperature in the rest of the fridge.
This part wears down with time, so you’ll likely encounter this issue as your freezer gets older.
However, other mistakes can speed up the wearing down of your freezer’s door seal, such as protruding containers scratching against it.
A simple test to determine whether the rubber seal around your freezer’s door is loose or damaged is to close the freezer door around a paper bill.
If the bill slides without resistance, this means the rubber seal has worn down.
Solution: Confirm if the rubber seal has come loose or been damaged by holding out a hand near the freezer door while it’s closed. If you can feel air coming out, inspect the door seal for damages.
Some rubber seals can be reattached after coming loose. However, as a preventive measure, we recommend replacing the rubber seal altogether.
Moreover, a dirty rubber seal can cause the same issue of restricting the freezer door from closing, so we suggest cleaning this part out along with the rest of your refrigerator.
Loose or Damaged Hinges
Opening and closing your freezer often can strain the door’s hinges over time. Similar to the freezer’s door gasket, this is an issue of eventuality.
Likewise, negligent habits can speed up the wearing down of the door’s hinges; worse, it can damage it altogether.
For example, items stored near or directly on your freezer door can weigh it down and weaken the door hinges. In situations like this, the topmost hinge of the door receives the most strain.
When left unchecked for too long, this will cause the door hinges to give out without warning.
Furthermore, your freezer door uses a door hinge bushing to keep it in place. When this part is damaged, you’ll have a difficult time opening and closing the freezer door.
Solution: Unplug your refrigerator and empty it. Afterwards, check the freezer’s door hinges for any damage.
Damaged hinges sometimes produce squeaking sounds. Keep an ear out for any strange noises the door might make.
If the hinges are loose, clean them out to lubricate them, then tighten them back in place. If they are damaged, replace them.
Moreover, check for damages to the door hinge bushing.
You can access this component first by disconnecting the freezer door’s wires from the door assembly found on the top of the fridge.
Afterwards, lift the freezer door off its place — the door hinge bushing is underneath your freezer’s door.
This part can be too strenuous, so don’t hesitate to call for assistance.
Once you’ve pulled the freezer door bushing out, you can replace it.
With this, you’ll know which to check first the next time you find your Samsung freezer door not closing all the way.
Compared to other issues your Samsung freezer might face, this one doesn’t isn’t as technical.
But that can also mean that it’s fairly easy to repeat the same mistakes that created the problem in the first place.
Your Samsung fridge is built to last for a long time, but remember to be mindful of the way you use it so it doesn’t wear down too fast.
